As a parent of three children of which two have graduated from this institution, I wish I had the foresight to have taken my children out and put them in either a home-school or a school that is not teaching an "Alex Jones-like/Ward Churchill" curriculum. My just graduated daughter had spent the four years being picked on by teachers, framed by the Wildlife teacher, and was taught that Hitler was misunderstood by a "teacher" who openly supports an ideology that is anti-semitic. The guidance counselor was mentally absent in what would be best for her so I finally had her switched to another one for her senior year.
At the graduation ceremonies, I along with most people in the bleachers were disgusted when two recipients of a special award would have their speeches in two languages. The English they spoke was not clear and concise but when they spoke in Spanish, it was loud and clear. The parents sitting with us stated, this is our tax dollars at work.
I and mostly others do not mind languages, however, enough of appeasement. American English is our language - if a student and his/her family fails to understand this - they have no business being here. That is law!
The principal also should not have brought up his favorite politician and make the graduation a political statement. Not everyone agrees with Barak H. Obama nor does everyone believe he was eligible. I'm not a Bush fan either, however, a Principal should not be showing his bias but should be giving a better speech for dedication to students and the hard roads that lie ahead of them. Perhaps that is also why many students decided to throw the tortillas and beachballs - especially during his speech.
In closing, most of us know the facts about American and World History. Most of us also know what a good teacher is compared to a teacher who is "tenured" and is a lousy one. If Petaluma High gives to parents two pages of a dress code but does not enforce it, why bother? Why does Petaluma High have "educators" who have problems with students with learning disabilities/handicaps? Should a teacher who puts up barriers (physical barriers) so she doesn't have to see students who may not look like a tv starlet and has tenure be better than one who doesn't have tenure but includes all (with and without disabilities)? What about educators who have no idea what facts are in regards to true History and current events but will teach the innocent children an Alex Jones/Yassir Arafat revision? Why teach geography that is totally incorrect? To these and other questions, we will never get answers. read more